Crule (Earth-616)
| Identity = Secret | Affiliation = , formerly | Relatives = | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = | Gender = Male | Height = 6'8" | Weight = 329 lbs | Eyes = White | Hair = Orange | UnusualSkinColour = Purple | UnusualFeatures = Claws, fangs | CharRef = | Citizenship = | MaritalStatus = Single | Occupation = Former Nazi agent | Education = | Origin = Mutant | PlaceOfBirth = Possibly northern Africa | Creators = Fabian Nicieza; Rob Liefeld; Mark Pacella | First = X-Force #12 | Death = Cable #153 | Quotation = Having been informed of your awakening by Gideon, I decided we would be best served by severing your five branches right now... Before you become a threat to us all! | Speaker = Crule | QuoteSource = X-Force Vol 1 15 | HistoryText = Origin 'Crule was an ancient berserker and a member of a rare subspecies of mutant immortals called Externals, to which among them he represented Ferocity. Crule was considered the meanest and maddest of them all. He was believed to originate from the northern regions of what became Africa. At least centuries old, he invoked Ishtar and Mitra, deities primarily worshiped in the Hyborian Age. High Lords It is unknown when exactly he joined his fellow Externals, namely Garbha-Hsien and Nicodemus in forming the self-fashioned “High Lords”. But preferring to give into his ferocious nature, Crule does not partake nor care for the schemes of the others to control the destiny of the Earth. Due to Crule's ways the others cautiously use his services to be their enforcer and assassin. Crule may have been with them when they tried to recruit another External named Candra in the early to mid 11th century. World War II During World War II, he worked in a concentration camp, happily operating a gas chamber. When Externals Clash When the rest of the High Lords began looking for the next External and sensed it in the recently risen from the dead Cannonball, they gathered to discuss this new revelation to which Crule didn’t attend. Gideon came up with a plan to lure Cannonball by killing his mentor and threat to their secrecy Cable. Though the others were shocked with Gideon’s plan to use Crule as the one to see it done despite Absalom’s and Burke's concerns, Saul and Nicodemus allowed it. While in the Lowtown Madripoor, an Asian city-island not far off the coast of China, Crule was in a bar playing poker and til he caught the dealer cheating. Crule not one to deny his inherent tendency’s and love for violence, proceeded to destroy the bar and the people in it. After while enjoying a drink to his work Gideon showed, and to Crule’s joy to catch up on a half century of hatred attacked Gideon. At first Crule proved the better of the two, that is until using his ability to masterly duplicate the abilities and powers of others Gideon soundly beat Crule. Gideon filled Crule in on his plan to rid them of Cable, the newest ascended Cannonball and things which pertain to the ascension of the Externals. Together they went to Gideon’s penthouse apartment above the main administrative offices of Ophrah Industries in Denver. Crule though wanting to tar Roberto da Costa apart upon meeting but Gideon, still affected by his coping of Crule, savagely beat Roberto to unconsciousness instead. To the Pain In upstate New York Adirondack Mountains three miles from a now destroyed X-Force’s underground base, Crule found them and what was left of Weapon P.R.I.M.E. trying to arrest them. But when S.H.I.E.L.D. showed up and X-Force fought back Crule heard over the radio of a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicopter flying by that Cable was either dead or long gone, he decided that Cannonball would better serve them dead. Crule ignoring Gideon's plan and not caring for his fellow Externals needs, decided the High Lords would be best served by severing Guthrie’s five branches right now before he'd become a threat to them all. As X-Force took off in a hijacked S.H.I.E.L.D. interdiction personal assault carrier Crule jumped aboard and once they were over the coast of Newfoundland, which they had started to head for Arizona he smashed his way through a damaged part of the vehicle. Crule made quick work of Warpath and though sustaining injuries from Shatterstar and Feral, he easily throw them aside but before going through Rictor he had words with Cannonball. Once Crule revealed that Gideon had Sunspot and that he my have already killed him, Rictor blasted him through the side of the S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier which he fell a few thousand feet. Prisoners of Fate Crule ended up in a body cast for his troubles and was placed at St. Anthony's Hospital in Portland Maine to recover. While there the Legacy Virus would by unleashed on mutantkind and not given the immortal Externals would be safe. When the virus to the first among them in Nicodemus, Gideon and Saul would attempted to get Cannonball to break their deal to leave each other alone by kidnapping Warpath, Boom-Boom and Siryn. But Cannonball not falling for it sent his X-Force to rescue their friends, the team located Crule and took him from the hospital. Once on board the IPAC they made a deal with Crule that if he tells them what they need on the Externals they’ll do what he can't and take them down player by player. Crule wanting to humble his fellow High Lords was more then happy to give them up, so happy that he wouldn’t stop talking. Once X-Force saved their friends they crossed the Pacific Ocean and out of fear that if they kept Crule around he would recover enough to leash out at them, so they dumped him overboard and left him there. Even an X-Ternal Can Die! With the lost of Nicodemus and Burke, Crule though unafraid found himself as with the remaining High Lords vulnerable for the first time in centuries. Though not from others but from one of their fellow Externals, namely Selene. Selene who had been waiting for this moment for centuries and with the coming terror that is Onslaught, not to mention the return of Apocalypse that would come with it she made her move. Aware they were being hunted Crule gathered Absalom, who at first did not believe him until they made it to Manhattan and found a dead Gideon in the streets of the Rockefeller Center. With X-Force's Sunspot and Caliban having found Gideon due to him calling them for help, Crule and Absalom unaware of this nor Saul’s fate attacked them believing they were the cause. Crule and Absalom proved to much for the two X-Force men until the rest of their team in Shatterstar, Siryn, Meltdown, Domino and Warpath who would not join the fight arrived to help. During the battle Crule having been caught of guard was defeated by Shatterstar and as he wanting to test Crule's immortality went to cut his head off, Domino stepped in and stopped Shatterstar. With X-Force having won Selene who had been watching and knocked out Warpath after he found a dead Saul discovered her, made her move and drained a defeated unaware Absalom of his life-force. Though shocked X-Force tried to save him as Crule saw what Selene had done freaked and dove in after him. But with Absalom dead Crule brutally attacked her, and despite being injured Selene managed capture him. Selene quickly drained the life-force from Crule as X-Force, unable to save him watch on in horror. The Newer Mutants At some point after Selene’s failed attempt to absorb the essence of what was left of her fellow Externals, Crule and the others including those that died due to the Legacy Virus came back to life. 10 years later sensing the sudden death of Candra by a mysterious and more powerful threat Crule, Nicodemus and Absalom agreed to work with Selene to stop this threat. While at Selene’s hideout in the Manhattan’s Hellfire Club, he and the others confronted a Cable from 13 years later , Shatterstar, Doop and Longshot who had been fighting Selene. But once convinced that neither had or know who was behind Candra’s death let them leave with the warning to stay out of External business. Later Crule and the others accompanied Selene to the Atlantic Ocean of the Coast of Greenland, there they watched as Selene pulled Blink back from death to aid in their travels. The next day sensing the death of Saul they had Blink teleport them to Orkhon Valley; Mongolia to see if they can discover who is behind this. Once there as Selene, Blink and Nicodemus stayed behind with Saul's body he and Absalom went on head. Finding only dead monks they happened across Shatterstar, Longshot and X-23 , not happy Cable continues to stick his nose in their business attacked. As Longshot ran ahead to shockingly find alive Blink with Nicodemus and Selene, Crule and Absalom fought X-23 and Shatterstar but despite a heating fight where Crule took a number of claw shots to the back and through the skull he and the others once sensing Burke's death left. Crule with Saul’s body and the others went to Burke’s cabin in the woods of Tonasket; Washington, there having found Burke had died without struggling came to believe that the one capable of all this was the only one left, Gideon. After Nicodemus set the cabin on fire to give their fallen brethren a funeral and head to Colorado to find Gideon they are confronted by Gideon, but not the Gideon they knew but one from 3000 years in the future. Watching as Selene fought an empowered Gideon, Crule was about to take action when she called for help only to be impaled through the heart by Absalom. Revealing like Burke he wanted to die and helped Gideon to make that happen then turned on Nicodemus. But before either Absalom and Gideon could finish Selene she had Blink teleport them to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Colorado where Cable and the others were. But with the powers of Crule, Saul, Candra, Burke and Nicodemus combined Gideon was to much for Cable and his team of Shatterstar, Longshot, Armor and X-23. Selene with all her strength fought Gideon as Cable with Doop’s help distract Gideon as Blink quickly opened and closed a portal decapitating Gideon. Having stopped Gideon from achieving the godhood Selene once tried to attempted by stealing the essence of Crule and the others, Cable revealed that an External can only kill another External so Gideon failing means they'll be back. | Powers = Immortal: Crule is not only possessed with an extremely long lifespan but is effectively immortal and since becoming active after his first death he no longer ages. Though Crule can be put out of commission or seemingly destroyed for various periods of time, he can not be killed. * Rapid Healing: Ability to endure injuries (within unknown limits) without lasting harm or even feeling pain , he could apparently regenerate injured or missing cells from even near-fatal injuries. * Resurrection: As an immortal, Crule has shown to be able to resurrected himself from death. Psychic-Link: As an Extertal, he shares a telepathic-link with his fellow Externals that allows them to not only sense each other and where, but when one rises from the dead and when one is killed by another External. Superhuman Strength: Crule is more then strong enough to lift 13 tons and has even knocked out Warpath with a single punch. Superhuman Durability: He has shown to be able to take a full on blast at close range from Rictor, sending him through the side of the S.H.I.E.L.D. carrier falling a few thousand feet and survive. Also this was after being blooded by Shatterstar and Feral and he had even taken X-23's claws to the skull years later and walked away. Razor Sharp Claws & Teeth: Crule has powerful razor sharp claws and teeth but the extant of the strength and damage of them is unknown. | Abilities = He had centuries of experience in many forms of armed and unarmed combat. | Strength = He could lift 13 tons. | Weaknesses = Crule can only be killed by having his life-force drained or heart eaten from a fellow External, but if the External fails to due the same to the other Externals he'll come back again. | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = * Gauntlet-covered claws * Hair Whip with Spiked Mace | Notes = * Though Crule's exact origin remains unknown, he has invoked the names of Ishtar and Mitra, deities primarily worshiped in the Hyborian Age. * It was revealed that Crule and the other Externals can only die at the hands of a fellow External, and in doing so that External absorbing the essence of their brethren gaining godhood. * But when an External kills another and fails to kill all the other Externals, he/she losses the power they gained and the fallen Externals come back to life. | Trivia = | Links = }} Category:Martial Arts Category:Self-Resurrection